Lower Rice Wildlife Management Area: hunting and access
Lower Rice Wildlife Management Area is 441 acres of state land managed by the Minnesota DNR in Clearwater County, near Zerkel, inside Deer Permit Area 298. The DNR's WMA data lists deer, ducks and geese, bear and small game for it. Hunters registered 779 deer in DPA 298 in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: the DNR's wildlife management area data, read 2026-10. Harvest: DNR Deer Harvest Reports, 2021 to 2025.
State wildlife management areasState forest and other DNR landLower Rice WMACounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 441 acres in 5 pieces |
|---|---|
| County | Clearwater County |
| Deer Permit Area | DPA 298 |
| DNR lists for hunting | deer, ducks and geese, bear and small game |
| Nearest town (DNR) | Zerkel |
| DNR area office | Park Rapids |
| Special restrictions | Yes, see the rules below |
| Nearest towns | South End (next to it), Roy Lake (3 mi) and Rice Lake (5 mi) |
What is Lower Rice WMA like?
This WMA has four parcels or subunits that are primarily wetland (shrub swamp) habitat in a mixed lowland and upland forest landscape. There is a 16-acre 100-year old red pine forest on a disjunct parcel of WMA and 25 percent of the WMA is forested.
This WMA is managed to protect wetland and forest wildlife habitat. Deer, bear, ruffed grouse and waterfowl hunting opportunities exist. The Wild Rice River flows through the WMA.
In the DNR's words, from its wildlife management area data.
What can you hunt on Lower Rice WMA?
The DNR's WMA data lists deer, ducks and geese, bear and small game for Lower Rice WMA. Each follows the statewide season and, for deer, the bag limit of the permit area.
What are the rules on Lower Rice WMA?
Open to hunting and trapping in the regular seasons under the DNR's statewide WMA rules.
Special restriction the DNR lists for Lower Rice WMA: The four separate sub-units are intermixed with White Earth Indian Reservation, private, and DNR Forestry Trust lands. There is an old gravel pit on one of the sub-units.
How many deer are taken around Lower Rice WMA?
Lower Rice WMA lies in Deer Permit Area 298. The DNR registered 779 deer in DPA 298 in 2025, against 671 in 2024.
| DPA | Lower Rice WMA acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPA 298 | 441 | 779 | 671 | 491 |
Harvest for the whole deer permit area, not the WMA alone: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report).
How do you get to Lower Rice WMA?
From Zerkel, go 2 3/4 miles W on SH 200 to access 3 parcels. Take Auganaush FR 1 mile S to Buckboard Hills SFR then 1 1/2 miles E to access fourth parcel.
Nearest towns: South End (next to it), Roy Lake (3 miles), Rice Lake (5 miles) and West Roy Lake (6 miles). Highways within 5 miles: MN 92 and MN 200.
What other public land is near Lower Rice WMA?
DNR WMAs within 10 miles:
- Wapatus Lake WMA: 40 acres, 2.3 miles away
- Island Lake WMA: 33 acres, 2.5 miles away
- Mckenzie Lake WMA: 35 acres, 3.3 miles away
- Roy Lake WMA: 35 acres, 3.3 miles away
- Perch Lake WMA: 252 acres, 3.9 miles away
- Mosquito Creek WMA: 747 acres, 5.7 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Lower Rice WMA
Counting Lower Rice WMA itself, 5,919 of the 32,254 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (18.4%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| State forest and other DNR land | 5,379 |
| State wildlife management areas | 540 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Lower Rice WMA?
In Clearwater County, near Zerkel. The DNR's directions: From Zerkel, go 2 3/4 miles W on SH 200 to access 3 parcels. Take Auganaush FR 1 mile S to Buckboard Hills SFR then 1 1/2 miles E to access fourth parcel.
Which deer permit area is Lower Rice WMA in?
Deer Permit Area 298. Its bag limit and firearms dates apply.
How much public land is around Lower Rice WMA?
5,919 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Lower Rice WMA included, by PAD-US 4.1. 6 other WMAs are within 10 miles, the closest Wapatus Lake WMA (2.3 miles).
Get a Minnesota hunt plan when they open
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Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Minnesota included.
Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: DNR, Lower Rice WMA; Minnesota DNR Wildlife Management Area boundaries, publicly accessible.
- Boundary and acres: the DNR's map layer above. Surrounding public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
- Deer harvest: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report).
FilledTag is not part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Check the DNR's rules and posted signs before you go.